


Invasive // Criminal Minds

by tordin



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Criminal Minds RPF
Genre: I don't know why I wrote this, I'm just really tired, Other, Please Just Go With It, This isn't from the recent seasons, shhhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:08:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tordin/pseuds/tordin
Summary: When Spencer Reid gets a phone call late after a case, anxieties and fears arise when it revolves around his son, Salem. Bringing the team into it seems to only make things worse.
Kudos: 12





	1. Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, listen, this idea was knocking around in my head since I watched Angels (s9 ep23) when the comment was made that Spencer wanted kids. I thought it was a decent idea and I decided to write it, so... Yeah, here we go. Read if you want.

“No, no no no, c’mon-” Morgan gripped the small bleeding boy in his arms, staring down at Reid’s son as tears pooled in his eyes. “We need a medic!” He shouted over his shoulder, using his body to block everyone’s view of the teen, though Reid could see his son’s legs, his own becoming weak as he felt sick. His son, the child he’d raised since he was an infant, was laying in a pool of his own blood in front of him.

“No…” Tears welled and spilled from his eyes, and he dropped to his knees, his gun skittering along the cold wooden floors as he sobbed into his hands, shoulders shaking and his breath coming out in short and panicked hiccups. He felt a hand first grab his arm, then his elbow, and he looked up to see an equally teary eyed Hotchner helping him to his feet.

“Reid, we have to leave. The medics are coming.”

“No,” The young doctor ripped away from him, crawling towards Morgan. The larger man looked over, watching as Reid reached out a shaking hand, brushing hair away from his son's eyes, “I’m staying until the medic gets here."

"Reid-"

"I said _no_ ," Aaron looked shocked at the sudden sharpness in the doctor's tone, taking a step back as he watched Reid turn his attention back to his son, "I said I'm staying until an ambulance arrives."


	2. God's Gift

_**“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”— Nelson Mandela** _

\----------

"Salem?" 

The teen jolted awake, looking up to see his father, Dr. Spencer Reid, crouched next to him with a soft smile on his face. "Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah… Um, yeah," The boy rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, groaning a bit, "Just studying for my exams."

"Y'know, I talked to Hotch and Rossi, they said they'd let me take you onto the field for some training. They're going to talk to your professors tomorrow morning."

The teen perked to attention, his eyes wide. "Wait, really?!"

"Yeah, yeah," Spencer felt the excitement radiating off of his son, watched the way he perked up and practically bounced in his seat. Salem had been around his team before, spent time with them as well, but this? Actually getting to work cases with them? He could see the absolute amazed happiness in his shining green eyes. "They're happy to have you. They want to see if you're going to be like me,” He joked, reaching into his bag to pull out an item wrapped in brown paper, "I also picked up this on the way home. You've been hinting you wanted it for awhile, so I decided to get it for you."

Salem reached for the package, tearing into it before looking up at his father with a beaming smile, "Dad, first edition of _An Unquiet Mind_?"

"Yep. I was finally able to get it sent in to the bookstore down the street."

Salem leapt out of his seat, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, burying into his shoulder. "Thank you!"

Spencer held his son close, nodding as he rested his chin against his shoulder. "Of course, Salem." It was a moment before the hug was broken, and Reid stood, gripping the strap of his bag with one hand, humming to himself as he tilted his head, "Let's go get dinner. You should eat since you're studying. After all-"

“My blood sugar and energy will drop, which means that I won’t be able to focus.”

The doctor grinned at the quick answer he received, nodding, "Exactly."

If there was one person in the world who could keep up with Dr. Spencer Reid and his intelligence, it was his son who idolized his father and his work, wanting to be as quick witted and smart as him.

Soon, they were downstairs in the living room, Salem sitting criss-cross on the coffee table across from his father who sat on the couch. The boy picked at a bowl of butter noodles, appearing to seem focused on the thoughts tumbling through his head, which made Reid raise an eyebrow. “You’re thinking about something, what is it?”

“Nothing, just…” Salem frowned a bit, furrowing his eyebrows, “It’s nothing.”

“You’re clearly upset, Salem, what is it?”

“I’m okay, dad,” The boy promised as he looked up, smiling softly, “I promise. It’s just been a stressful day.”

“You're the youngest there, aren’t you?” Spencer smiled, which prompted a nod from the teen. 

“Yeah. They only made any form of exception because you’re my dad.”

“Well, Hotch and Rossi had a hand in it as well. They knew you showed potential and you grew up practically living with everyone on the force. It’s all you’ve talked about doing since you were a child.”

“Well, yeah, I can’t help it when my dad is one of the most well known profilers in the country,” Salem joked, setting his bowl of uneaten noodles to the side. This made Spencer frown as he watched his son do this, tilting his head to the side.

“You haven’t eaten. You always eat at least one bowl of noodles, those are your favorite.”

“I’m just not hungry, dad,” The brunette boy softly assured, “I’ll eat later. Tell me about one of your newest cases. You haven’t been home for a few days and the last we talked--”

“You helped me discover one of the missing victims we needed,” Reid started, nodding as if he were remembering the stopping point in a story, “Your victimology is excellent.”

“I learned from the best.”

“Yes, by studying,” Reid chuckled, “Only you could learn like that on your own. You can’t credit everything to me for the rest of your life, Salem. You should give yourself some recognition.”

“What happened after we figured out the missing person?” The boy watched his father excitedly, hanging onto his every word. Cases like this had become like bedtime stories for the young teen. While everyone on the team had seemed somewhat shocked that Reid would tell the kid such stories that would scar any normal child, it only fueled Salem’s love for his father’s work.

“--And then it was a gun standoff between Morgan and our unsub. He had the girl held at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her if we didn’t comply. He kept talking to people he swore were around him--”

“Paranoid schizophrenic, just like we said?”

“Yes. His mother tried to do an exorcism on him when he was a kid, accounting for the voices in his head to possession or demons attempting to take him. The voices in his head that haunt him are the people that helped take place in one of these exorcisms that ended up in flames by the time they even thought about how immoral it was. I’m impressed how you were able to keep up with the round table discussion while you were on campus.”

“I was on lunch break at the time.”

“Morgan is also impressed by how much you’re becoming like me. He thinks that we’re going to end up taking everyone else’s jobs if they aren’t careful.”

“Yeah, tell them to watch their backs,” Salem joked, rolling his eyes. 

Just as the two had settled in for the evening with their usual books, Spencer’s phone rang, leaving the two to look over, assuming they already knew what it was for.

“Wheels just touched down four hours and twenty-seven minutes ago, there’s no way that they need me back that soon,” The doctor sighed, reaching for the ringing device.

“Bad guys don’t sleep,” Salem chimed with a soft laugh, looking up from the book his father had gotten for him that afternoon. 

“You’re telling me,” The doctor answered the phone after bookmarking his book, “Hello?”

“Doctor Reid… You have stolen something from me.” 

“I’m sorry?” Instantly, the doctor was up on his feet, looking around his apartment. A cold chill ran down his spine at the sound of the voice that spoke to him, leaving him to reach for his gun with one hand, using his other to signal Salem stay quiet. “Who is this?”

“You’ll know soon enough, Doctor. But you’ve stolen something from me that I can never get back.”

“What have I stolen?” At that point, he pulled the phone away from his ear, pressing record on the device, a small red light beginning to blink as the call became embedded in the phone’s memory, something he could send to Garcia if he needed to.

“God’s gift to the world. I want it back.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Despite the slight fear that spiked in his system, Reid kept his voice even, not allowing his emotions to become evident.

“Yes, you do. I want it back or I’m taking it myself.” And with that, the phone clicked, signaling the person had hung up. Reid hit the “stop” option on his recorder, turning his head to Salem.

“C’mon, we’re going to the office.”

After rushing to collect bags, Salem and Spencer soon had piled into the back of a taxi, with everyone else on the team on their way. Once they arrived at the Bureau, everyone was rushed into the meeting room, all eyes looking up at Spencer who stood next to his son, keeping a tight grip on his shoulder, not wanting to lose the boy at any point.

“Thirty-seven minutes ago, I got a call from an anonymous number, demanding I return something I apparently stole from them. Judging by the voice, the person is male, however, there’s a possibility there was a voice changer involved.” He unlocked his phone and played the last bit of the conversation he’d managed to record before the person had hung up, leaving everyone to settle into a disturbed silence, all eyes on the two males standing at the front of the room.

“Reid…" The doctor looked over at Morgan who was quietly eyeing Salem. The boy looked exhausted, dark rings around his eyes and a messy fluff of brunette hair that mirrored his father's. "Whoever was calling, do you think they're talking about the kid?"

Everyone turned to look at Salem, whose face was steady. He looked calm for the situation that was happening, his hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets. "What do you mean?"

"Salem…" It was Hotch that spoke, watching as Reid looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with his eyes downwards, "Has your father ever told you-"

"No," Spencer interrupted him sharply, "I didn't."

"He's seventeen, Spencer, you need to tell him."

"Tell me what?" Salem asked, his eyes shifting between his father and the rest of his team, "What didn't he tell me?" 

"Salem…" Rossi sucked in a breath, hands folded in front of him, "Spencer isn't your father. Your biological one, anyway." 

"I-I'm sorry…?"

"Reid," Morgan muttered, "You need to tell the kid. He deserves to know."

"Your biological mother was found in a pool of her own blood, okay?" Reid's voice rose, breaking as he looked towards the teen, "She was murdered and we never caught her killer."

"You're not my dad…?"

The doctor chewed his thumb, his eyes focused now intently on a spot on the floor. The teen sighed, "This is my fault?"

"No," Hotchner stood, advancing towards the teen, keeping an eye on the doctor, "This isn't your fault, nor is it Reid's." The man pulled Salem into his grasp, gently petting his hair as the teen nuzzled into the crook of his neck, "However, you're going to have to stay under surveillance until we determine what this is."

"He can stay with me," Morgan offered, "Salem and Reid both."’

“Garcia, I need you to start tracking that phone call, see where it goes and possibly if we can get a hit on who owns the line,” Rossi started, leaving the larger blonde woman to nod with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes, her bright pink lipstick a bit smeared and clashing with her dark blue leopard print pajamas. No one was dressed for a professional work setting, considering the urgency of Reid’s call had dragged them all out of bed and to the office without stopping. “Salem, we’re going to have to interview you, okay? If this person is talking about you, that means that you’re part of his victimology.”

“Okay,” The teen took a breath, stepping back from Arin who kept a close eye on him, watching the boy take a few deep breaths before looking up at the two men with tired eyes, “I’m okay.”

“Reid, go with Morgan and Alex. We’ll have to interview you as well.” The doctor nodded, wandering behind the two while Salem followed Rossi and Hotchner, the two males being taken to different interrogation rooms.

“Alright, Salem,” Aaron started gently, “You said Reid has told you nothing about your biological family or how you were found, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever ask about having a mother? Surely you noticed that you and he look somewhat unalike.”

“I just assumed that it was because of my mother. Whenever I would ask about her though, he’d just push it off. Change the subject. Once I pushed him on it and he told me that we’d talk about it when I was older. I was seven at the time.”

“Have you noticed anything strange growing up? Since Reid is your dad, you faced a lot of things kids your age wouldn’t, but I mean anything outside of what you normally deal with?”

Salem frowned, “I remember how when I would walk home from the bus stop, there was always this man that was watching me while I walked. I didn’t think much of it because he stopped showing up after a while, but now that I’m thinking about it, it’s weird.”

Hotch and Rossi looked over at each other, eyebrows raised before turning to look at the kid. “This man, did he ever follow you?”

“No. He would just stand there and watch.The transit was right near our apartment, though.”

“Did you ever tell Reid about this?”

“Yeah, he started waiting for me at the stop. It was only two days until the guy stopped all together after dad started to come get me, and he hasn’t been back since.”

“Was there anyone at your high school when you were attending that seemed like a threat? Or where you’re going now?”

“It wouldn’t be uncommon that people would be jealous of you of all people,” Rossi sighed, “Not by any fault of yours, just-”

“I’m the youngest in uni with a dad who’s famous,” Salem interrupted, “People assume I’m getting an easy way in because I know both of you and because of my dad.”

“That’s not true, kid,” The Italian man leaned over the table and squeezing his shoulder, “You got in because you’re just as brilliant as Spencer, if not even smarter.”

“The mathematical possibility of that being true-”

“Salem… I know you’re smart, but we don’t have time with mathematics,” This made all three of the males in the room laugh at the soft humor before falling silent, the boy's eyes drifting down as his fingers traced shapes on the table, an anxious habit that both Rossi and Hotch had picked up on that Salem developed when he was thinking.

"What's on your mind, kid, you're clearly thinking about something…"

"What if I'm not as smart as dad?"

That made the two men fall silent, seemingly stunned by the question he'd asked. After a moment, Ross leaned forward, hands folded, eyebrows crinkled. "Kid… Look at me."

Salem hesitated for a moment, then looked up, met with the soft and compassionate faces of the two men he saw as his other fathers. He tugged at his hoodie sleeves, silent for a moment before finally speaking. "My dad… He's such a smart person, I could never be-"

"Salem," It was Aaron that spoke now, his voice gentle and soft, "You can never compare yourself to anyone like that. Your father is a brilliant man, yes, but you shouldn't force yourself into that shadow. You are more intelligent than you know or you will ever give yourself credit for. But, if you don't want to pursue your father's work, don't. Please. You'll burn yourself out-"

"I haven't slept in three days. I haven't eaten either. All I can think about since I was enrolled at uni is 'what if I'm not good enough'?"

"You'll always be good enough. Your father loves you. We care about you and we want you to be happy," Rossi offered a tired smile, sighing, "I know Reid loves you with all his heart."

"How did you find me?"

The two men looked each other over before turning back to Salem. "We'll let him explain when he's ready, alright?"

The teen nodded, gnawing his lip as he stared down at the metal table. "Is there anything else that you can think about this man?" As Ross asked this, Garcia came in holding three cups of coffee, her eyes falling on Salem first. 

"How is he?" She asked gently, setting the cups down in front of their respective person.

"I'm fine," The brunette offered a half smile, nodding as he reached for his cup, taking a sip of coffee with a sigh, “Just a lot to think about.”

“I’d imagine, honeybun,” Garcia gave a sympathetic and soft look, her hand gently reaching out to weave her fingers through the boy’s soft and fluffy hair. “I tracked the call on your dad’s phone, but it was a burner, so there wasn’t much luck behind that one.”

“Did you track the serial number on the phone?” Rossi asked, to which Garcia nodded. 

“Local Walmart. I’m looking back into phone records, I just want to check in on this one right here,” She looked down at Salem who was staring down at the table again while sipping his coffee. Garcia’s eyes drifted from the boy to Aaron and Ross, watching as they both stood slowly. 

“We’re done here, Salem.”

“Can I stay here for a little bit?” The brunette asked softly, to which all three of them nodded. Once they left, Salem stood, beginning to slowly pace the room, his thumb in his mouth as he chewed his nail. He was thinking over a lot, his mind racing and spinning as he tried to concentrate on one thing at a time.

Meanwhile, Ross, Aaron, Reid and Morgan stood in the small observation room above the interrogation room, all of them watching Salem.

“Is this my fault?” Reid asked softly, to which all eyes turned to him.

“What do you mean, kid? How could this be your fault?” Morgan rested a hand on Reid’s shoulder, his eyes flitting over the smaller man. The younger of the pair let his eyes drift from his son to the man next to him, eyebrows crinkled sharply, deep in thought about something. It was anyone’s guess as to what.

“The person who called me… He told me that I took ‘God’s Gift’ from him and he wanted it back. ‘God’s gift’ is another phrase usually used to describe children. Do you think it’s possible for him to actually mean Salem? I know we were saying it in theory before, but… What if that’s actually what he wants?”

This made everyone stop, falling silent and frozen. “Salem didn’t have any additional family,” Aaron finally spoke, “We attempted to look into Emily’s background only to find that there wasn’t a name on the birth certificate minus the mother’s. Next of kin were not found.”

“But, it is possible that there is a father figure who may have gotten angry about you raising his child,” Rossi muttered, fidgeting with his sleeve as he looked Reid over, “He was in the wings, probably regretting leaving. He comes back, but something went wrong…”

“Salem’s mother…” Reid seemed to be putting the pieces together, all of them falling to place and making him panic, “He found out she was…”

“Shot and killed, yes.”

Reid took a moment, the memory playing through his head like a movie scene. 

_They had been called to the scene after neighbors reported gunshots, and Reid could recall stepping onto the scene with Morgan, JJ and Alex in toe, guns up and flashlights on. They split off, JJ and Reid veering towards the kitchen while Morgan and Alex went down the hall towards what he could only assume were bathrooms and bedrooms. Rossi and Hotch followed close behind, heading straight towards the living room with their guns also at the ready. “Clear,” Reid belted out, followed by an echoing of “Clear”s as the rest of the house was sanctioned off. However, as Reid stepped into the kitchen from the hallway, he was met with a rather haunting sight, his stomach dropping. “Guys… We need a medic.”_

_When the rest of the team jogged into the kitchen, Reid was gently cradling a little boy swaddled in a blue blanket in his arms, a woman laying in a pool of her own blood at his feet. The rest of the evening was a blur, but one thing was for sure, Reid refused to let go of the little boy for the rest of the night, only doing so when the medics that had arrived on scene asked to check him over for injuries or assault of any kind. Thankfully, the boy was safe, but the same couldn’t have been said about the mother, who had died shortly after she had been found._

“Before she died… Salem’s mother talked to me,” Reid muttered, his tired and bloodshot eyes drifting over the four people in front of him, “She asked me to protect him. She didn’t say from who or what, but, I promised her I would. I’ve lost sleep over this case for seventeen years straight, and the fact that we haven’t found who did this, it’s been bugging me immensely.”

“Trust me, it’s bugging me, too, kid, but that’s not the point right now,” Morgan sighed, shaking his head, “Go get Salem, I’ll take him home so he can get some sleep. I’ll take him to class tomorrow, too.”

“Reid, you should go get some sleep, too-”

“No,” Reid shook his head, “With all due respect, sir, I can’t just sit at home when my son is possibly in danger. I need to stay here and take care of this case and make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“I’ll put an extra pot of coffee on, then,” Ross sighed, shaking his head, “Let’s get to work.”


	3. Protection

_**“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ― Maya Angelou**_

\---------

Morgan carried the sleeping Salem inside, shouldering his overnight bag as he settled him onto the couch, finding spare pillows to gently settle behind the teen’s head. Next was a spare comforter, tossed over him and the back of the couch. He then paused, looking down at the kid with a soft sigh, thinking over everything that happened. He didn’t doubt that the teen was a good kid, knowing his dad personally did a pretty excellent job raising him as a single father.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, leaving him to reach for it. “Hello?” His voice was gruff, laced with exhaustion as he stepped out of the room into an adjacent hall. 

“How is he?”

“He’s doing okay, Reid, I’ll watch over him, I promise.”

“Can I speak to him…?”

“He’s asleep right now, kid.”

“Can you at least make sure that he eats tomorrow morning? He hasn’t been eating.”

“I’ll make sure.”

“Thank you.”

“You need to make sure you’re eating, too, pretty boy. Get some sleep as well.”

“Yeah, I will.”

It was a moment that they talked before Morgan hung up, rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped back into the living room to find Salem sitting up on the couch, comforter wrapped around his shoulders as he stared blankly ahead.

“Hey, why’re you up? You need to go back to sleep.” Morgan’s voice had grown soft and compassionate as he crouched in front of the smaller male, hands clasped together and eyebrow raised. “You have class tomorrow don’t you?”

“Seven-fifteen in the morning, forensic countermeasure and psychoanalysis.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. We’re studying one of the crime scenes you actually investigated. I believe it was the Andersons?” 

“You mean the guy who killed with his wife?”

“Duo husband and wife team who lured their victims with promises of a hot shower before strangling the girl and having sex near the body. They want us to analyze the pathology of the killers, and I’m not allowed to ask dad or any of you for help.”

“Well, of course not, that would be cheating, wouldn’t it be?” The man chuckled, shaking his head. This made Salem crack a weak smile, sighing as he looked over at Morgan.

“I suppose so.”

“Must be hard having to take care of yourself without parents around all the time, huh?”

“I manage.”

“I’m impressed how self sufficient you are. You ever need anything, you can call me, okay? Your dad knows I’ll take care of you if you need someone. Rossi and Hotch will, too. And Alex, and Penelope, and JJ.”

“Thank you… I just… It’s a lot to process. What if this guy wants to find me? What if he hurts dad, or you, or anyone else?”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“Promise? Pinky promise?” Morgan chuckled a bit and held out his pinky, watching as Salem hesitated before he reached out, wrapping his finger around the man’s in front of him. After a moment of silence, Salem jumped forward and wrapped Morgan into a hug, shaking a bit as he did so. For the first time, the agent witnessed probably one of the strongest kids he knew break, and it added to the rage he felt towards the mess this man was putting him through. “I’m scared, Derek. I know that I’m not supposed to be. I have to be strong, but…”

“Hey, kid, you don’t have to be anything. You hear me?” He pulled away enough to look down at Salem, sighing, “You’re putting up a front and I understand that. You grew up in the shadow of a lot of great people, it’s not fair for you. But, don’t ever think you have to fill anyone’s shoes. You just need to take care of yourself, got it?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I got it.”

The next morning, Morgan was awoken to find Salem in the kitchen, washing out a bowl and a coffee cup. The boy looked over his shoulder, watching as the man sleepily padded into the room. “Hey, good morning.”

“Morning,” The larger man gruffly muttered, sitting down at the bar in the kitchen, “You eat yet?”

“Yeah, I found some cereal in the cabinet. Coffee, too. I left some in the pot for you.”

“Hey, thanks.” Morgan watched as the kid moved from the kitchen to the living room, picking up his bag to which he cleared his throat, “Ah, I don’t think so, kid. I’m chaperoning you to class. I promised your dad I would.”

“Morgan, you really don’t have to.”

“Kid, there’s possibly someone trying to take you from us, and you think I’m going to let you just walk or take the bus alone?”

Salem hesitated for a moment, then sighed, nodding. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not a burden, I don’t mind.”

After a quick breakfast on Morgan’s end and after they got ready, Salem was dropped off at the academy and Morgan was back to the Bureau to find everyone gathered together in the meeting room, Spencer fast asleep with JJ’s jacket thrown over him. Alex had huddled together combing over Spencer’s phone records while Aaron and David sat nearby. “Hey, I got him there safe.” His voice remained low so he wouldn’t wake Reid, dropping his coat on the empty chair, “He tried to walk to school but I wouldn’t let him.”

“That’s good,” Hotch mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, he didn’t want to be a burden. How’s the kid?” 

“We finally got him to go to sleep a few hours ago.” JJ said as she crept back into the room, holding coffee cups for everyone. Morgan nodded, sitting down in the free chair next to the other two men, hands clasped in front of him as he leaned against the table. He looked over at the brunette to his left, watching as his fingers twitched against the icy wood of the table. Knowing how he acted when he was awake, he could only imagine what his dreams were like. He could see the sproutings of gray in the mess of curly brunette-blonde hair he possessed, and he could only imagine just how much stress the good doctor had to be under raising a kid as well as working the cases, no matter how well behaved and subordinate that Salem may have been.

The day fluttered by rather quickly for most people, but for the team of investigators, it dragged by like lead bricks attached to their ankles, and it was almost agonizing. Reid was on his phone all day, messaging Salem to make sure he was safe, and on the other end of the phone, Salem was anxiously watching his back, rushing from class to class without a second thought. He didn't talk to many people to begin with, so isolating himself wasn't exactly uncommon. When his lunch rolled around, he was on call with the team, earbuds in and his voice soft.

“Did you find anything?”

“Not yet, Salem…” Alex was the one to speak, her voice gentle, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay. I promise.”

“Your voice is off. Did someone hurt you? Is someone watching you? Are you safe?” Reid’s voice spiked with concern, and JJ rested a hand on his shoulder. 

“Dad…” Salem cracked a bit of a smile, raking his fingers through his hair, “I promise I’m okay. You can call my professors if you don’t believe me.”

“I do believe you, we’re just… Worried.”

“I know, dad, it’s okay.” And yet, while Salem spoke, he felt eyes on him, practically boring into his back. It made a shiver race up his spine, and his attention drifted from his father’s panicked ranting to a corner of the cafeteria area, where a man’s head had turned to return to his laptop. 

“Hey… Don’t panic, but I think there’s someone watching me.”

“What?! Ace, get out of there!”

“Reid,” Morgan had looked over at the younger man from the speaker resting in the middle of the table, “Reid, you need to breathe.”

Salem was already on his feet and collecting his bag, unable to stomach anything. He felt sick, dizzy even as he rushed out of the cafeteria, but no one seemed to notice him that he’d recognized. “Dad, I’m sure it’s fine,” He muttered into the phone, but his voice betrayed an edge of worry that laced his tone.

The doctor had stood, beginning to pace, “He said that he thought someone was watching him. What if this is the guy trying to take my son?”

JJ sighed, her eyebrows wrinkling in concern, “Spence… We’re all on edge, but you have to keep it together for Salem’s sake. We don’t know if this is the guy we’re looking for-”

And yet, the yelling and struggling on the other end of the line made the team of profilers jerk to attention, “SALEM?!”

There were the sounds of a scuffle, followed by a grunt of pain that had to be Salem’s. The boy felt his body being slammed against the wall nearest him, and turning, he snapped his head aside and headbutted the person, causing his own nose to bust and the guy to go down like a pile of bricks. The teen grabbed his phone that had fallen when he’d been grabbed, his breathing sharp and jagged.

“I just got jumped…”


End file.
